Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations Essay

Before you start writing a Great Expectations essay read the book. And that does not mean reading a summary of the book Reading the entire book will put you in touch with the times Dickens lived in and give you a fair idea of the social and political scenario of Victorian England so that you can come up with a really good Great Expectations essay

Great Expectations Essay Topics:

Great expectations essay topic 1: How Does Dickens create sympathy for his characters?

One of the first things any essay that focuses on the characters of Charles Dickens must state is that his books consist of both flat and round characters. While his flat characters do not change throughout the book his ‘round’ characters do.

To write a Great Expectations essay on the above topic you could put the spotlight on Pip and two or three other characters and reread the text with the topic question in mind. You can also familiarize yourself with the social and cultural ethos of the England that Dickens lived in.

Great expectations essay topic 2: How does Dickens create characters that are both memorable and striking?

In the case of topic two your Great Expectations essay can dwell on a detailed study of three extracts.

You can analyze the relationship between Pip and Magwitch

You can write about Pip’s visits to Miss Havisham

Pip’s visit to Wemmick .

The golden rule of thumb is to focus on at least three characters or incidents from the book. Also try and trace the change in the relationship between Pip and Magwitch.

Your Great Expectations essay can take a look at social mobility in the Victorian era when it was not easy to go from rags to riches. Use the essay as a platform to uncover Victorian attitudes to class divisions and women. That way you will have uncovered the social and historical context that the book is based on.

Great expectations essay topic 3: How does Dickens portray a sense of homelife in three different areas of the novel?"

You have a wide canvas here. You can examine Dickens portrayal of home life within the Pocket family, the Satis House, the family at Jaggers' house in Soho or family life at Wemmick.

In this way your Great Expectations essay can analyze different aspects of Great Expectations that includes the characters, the plot as well as the social ethos of the Victorian era.